Niels M. Nielsen was born December 20, 1883 in Oslo, Norway, the son of Johan Nillsen, a contractor, who built many buildings in that capital city. N. M. Nielsen was the eldest of 12 children. He was educated in Oslo, began learning the construction business under another contractor and studied architecture in an architectural school. He became an expert bricklayer. At that time, when he was 23 years old, he met Mr. and Mrs. L. G. Nelson of Davenport, North Dakota, who were visiting relatives in Oslo. They talked to him about America and urged him to come back with them when they returned. Mr. Nielsen went with the Nelsons when 'they bought their return ticket on which they paid $10.00 down and the balance when they boarded the ship. He had not definitely decided to go to America but paid the money down on the ticket. When the boat sailed on February 22, 1907, Mr. Nielsen was on board. Landing in New York, he came with his friends, the Nelsons, directly to Davenport, North Dakota.
In order to learn the English language, Niels decided to go to school at Davenport. Starting with the first grade, he spent one day in each grade and then decided to get a job. Davenport was a small town compared to Oslo' and jobs were not plentiful. He went to Fargo to see a contractor who advised him to go to Valley City, where much construction was in progress.
In April, 1907, Niels came to Valley City where he was destined to become a permanent resident and successful contractor. Among the buildings under construction were the Rudolf Hotel, Junior High School, Lincoln School, Ritchie School, Valley Hotel and Frank Flora Hardware. He worked as a bricklayer on the Rudolf Hotel. In 1914 he secured his first contractors license.
Niels was having difficulty getting his mail delivered on account of the similarity of his last name with other names in the area. His last name was Nillsen, which, after the Norwegian custom, originally meant the son of Nill, as Peterson meant the son of Peter. To facilitate the delivery of his mail, he changed the first "I" in his last name to "e" making it read Nielsen.
On September 23, 1914, he married Ida Marie Skretting, the daughter of the John Skrettings, a pioneer family of Barnes County.
Children born to this union were:
Eugene and Wayne Nielsen, who have continued Nielsen Construction in Valley City.
Donald of Stockton, California; Shirley, (Mrs. Dean Carlson,) Riverside, California; Dorothy (Mrs. D. A. West) Detroit Lakes, Minnesota.
Mr. Nielson built a great number of buildings of varied types in Valley City and eastern North Dakota. In Valley City, some of his principal constructions were the Free Methodist Church, Lee's Market, Holiday's Super Market, the Geisler building and Our Saviors Lutheran Church. The latter structure, built over many years; was one of the most beautiful religious edifices in the northwest. It was Niels' masterpiece.
Niels returned to Oslo three times to revisit his old home and family. He found his adopted country a land of opportunity. He passed away in 1968 at the age of 85.
Source: Barnes County History 1976 Page 174